azarus Jones and Anna Style are partners: Detroit city cops trying to scratch their way through another night of shielding the citizens of the city, staying alive and dealing with the heartburn caused by too much cold coffee. All that changes when a routine investigation of an abandoned high school unleashes a storm of ghosts and other evil things that go crash in the night.
The boss ghost—an English-accented, medieval-like man named Hawksmoor—absconds with Anna, another ghost melds with Lazarus (providing him with second sight), and he sets off to free his lovely partner and to save the world from the evil that he has unleashed. Such is the plot to Namco's new creepy-action game, Ghosthunter.
All this freeing and saving happens in the over-the-shoulder third-person perspective as Lazarus makes his way through a variety of unique levels that he accesses via a portal in the high school. His journey winds through a ghost ship, a flooded town, an abandoned prison island and a military-scientific research area strongly resembling the famed Area 51.
At times, players blast interfering ghosts with a wide variety of exotic weapons, at other times they solve puzzles, and still other challenges can be solved only by stealth and cunning. Occasionally, the young girl-ghost cohabitating Lazarus' body can be summoned to help. As the game progresses she learns a number of useful powers—powers that may blast away rubble in your path or enable her to possess enemy spirits.
There is no multiplayer.
A thinking gamer's shooter
Ghosthunter is one creepy, exciting experience. No, you won't scream in terror, or even bother turning your TV room lights back on, but neither will you ever feel completely at ease. The game's ambiance, from the dank corridors of the abandoned high school to the often disturbing monsters, is perfect. Lighting flickers, and monsters morph into unexpected forms and then attack from behind, above and below.
The visuals are simply some of the best on PlayStation 2. Lazarus' animation is fluid, real, almost uncanny. The weapon effects and environments are equally scintillating, and the voice acting—performed by veteran actors Rob Paulsen (Terminator 2) and Joe Morton (Ali), is emotional, convincing and real. The cutscenes that Ghosthunter uses to propel the story are well done and fit seamlessly into the game.
On the downside, the game's puzzles are a tad bit weak, but that can also be a good thing. Puzzles that bring a game to a screeching halt aren't fun, but rather aggravating. Ghosthunter's puzzles never stop the game's flow, but rather provide a change of pace from the gun-blazing, monsters-charging segments.
Unfortunately, the fun ends all too soon. Most players will finish Ghosthunter within 10 hours. That's a wee bit short by today's standards. Still, for folks looking for a spooky, exciting and fun experience, Ghosthunter is one of the horror genre's best games of the year. The game is well-paced, well-acted, creepy and fun. Folks looking for a beautiful, thinking gamer's shooter need look no further. They don't come much better than this.
An exciting, fast-paced thrill ride. Yeah, it's short, but no one ever gave out awards for game length.
— Mark
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